The Thanksgiving table can get contentious at times. Generations of family loudly discussing politics, sports, and the proper use of nonbinary pronouns. Grandpa may never understand the difference between he/him/his and they/them/theirs, but he will go to his deathbed with the belief that Bill Russell with his 11 rings, is the greatest basketball player of all-time. Cousin Logan is a millennial. He listens to 32 podcasts a week, pays $6.50 for his coffee each morning, and swears in his vintage Kobe Bryant signature shoes, that the G.O.A.T. is Kobe Bryant. Aunt Suzy thinks that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar... Read More

Opening the 2023-24 NBA season against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers would have been big enough news by itself, but tonight there is more. The team will probably come running out onto the court as the DJ blasts Tobe Nwigwe’s song “Fye Fye.” Flashing lights will shoot across the darkened arena like a European dance club. The Finals MVP, Nikola Jokic, will probably say a few words. And the Championship banner will slowly be hoisted to the rafters to deafening applause. But we are no longer just the Denver Nuggets. We are the reigning World Champion Denver Nuggets – and we’re... Read More

Besides the sugar-buzz from devouring fun-sized Snicker bars all weekend, the best part was watching famous athletes walking arena halls in their Halloween best. The Celtics’ Grant Williams went full Gotham in a Batman costume. Atlanta’s Trae Young dressed as the Black Panther. The Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic was appropriately made up as The Joker. And most everyone else in the sports world showed up as some type of character from Stranger Things. I didn’t happen to catch what quarterback Russell Wilson dressed up as pre-game, but I had a few guesses. • Russell could have dressed up as a beverage... Read More

Timofey Mozgov was a seven-foot-one center that played five years for the Denver Nuggets before being shipped to Cleveland during the 2014-15 season. The slow-footed Russian averaged less than seven points and five rebounds per game, but surrounded by a roster that included Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, and Lebron James, Mozgov fit right in. The Cavaliers would end up losing in the NBA Finals, but Mozgov proved his worth by averaging 14 points and 7 rebounds in defeat, and the future looked bright. Mozgov’s second year with Cleveland didn’t go quite as well. While the Cavaliers would go to win... Read More

It is often hard to compete with the bright lights of Los Angeles. Los Angeles has Adele, Denzel, and DiCaprio. We have the guys from South Park. Los Angeles has Snoop Dog, Dr. Dre, and Ice Cube. We have The String Cheese Incident and icy roads. Los Angeles has Beyonce and her $200 million Malibu estate. We have Ciara and her four-bedroom twelve-bathroom home in Cherry Hills. Los Angeles also has 31 trips to the NBA Finals including 17 NBA Championships. We have none. Correction. We had none. The turning point in Game Four occurred around the two-minute mark when Nikola Jokic drained a one-footed,... Read More

Late last summer, following the fast-growing trend, my gym made the decision to convert the entirety of its rooftop tennis courts into Pickleball courts. I get it. Pickleball is low-impact and all-inclusive. I see husbands and wives playing, the coordinated and the not-so-coordinated playing, the fit and not-quite-as fit, and plenty of elderly. Sometimes all on the same court! Gyms are now considered Judge Free Zones – so I accepted the change, tried not to judge, and moved on. A few months later, the gym continued its deconstruction by converting the indoor basketball court into permanent Pickleball... Read More

As Kevin Durant held the ball at the top of the key the entire arena knew what was coming.  Down by two points with just seconds left in a pivotal game seven, Durant went to work. A few dribbles, a spin, a step-back-three, and the crowd erupted. A storybook ending in which Durant single-handedly willed his team to victory by scoring 48 points, including the game-winner, advancing the Brooklyn Nets into the Eastern Conference Final. At least, that is how the story would have gone if it was not for Durant’s size 18 shoes. Instead, an official video review showed that Durant’s mammoth shoes barely... Read More

The last time a Denver Nugget won an MVP award was back in 1969-70.  The player was Spencer Haywood, the league was the ABA, and technically, he wasn’t a Nugget, as the team was then called the Denver Rockets. Since the merger from the ABA to the NBA, there have been many great Nuggets such as Alex English, David Thompson, and Carmelo Anthony.  But none have won an MVP. Nikola Jokic is looking to change that. The oddsmakers will point to a Lebron James (LAL), Joel Embiid (PHI), or a James Harden (BRK) as betting favorites to take home the trophy, but the sixth-year center from Serbia shouldn’t... Read More

My belief system has forever included three absolutes.  Salsa is the greatest condiment in the world, red wine goes with everything, and Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player that has ever lived. Now I am not so sure. After winning his fourth NBA Championship last October, and continuing to dominate at the age of thirty-six, my belief system is now in question as Lebron James continues to dazzle while the debate grows ever closer. To solve that debate, I developed a method to answer the question once and for all.  A mathematical process if you will. The first step was to select a small... Read More

‘Twas a few nights before Christmas and filled with elation.  The NBA was now back from its tiny vacation.  Chris Paul now a Sun and Steph Curry a go.  A new Max-Player deal for Antetokounmpo. That last line a bit forced if we’re being quite honest.  Should’ve mentioned Durant and then simply used Giannis. There’s Doncic, and Zion, a few guys to the Sixers. James Harden’s late flights to loud Vegas mixers. Hayward to the Hornets in his warm Christmas sweater.  The Clippers got clipped while the Lakers got better. Westbrook now a Wizard and with Beal, he shall play. And an apropos... Read More